Meet the Material Girls: Quilting for injured veterans

They're a far cry from Madonna, but about 10 women who quilt for recovering injured veterans call themselves the Material Girls.

Meeting every Monday at the Piecemakers Country Store in Costa Mesa for nearly 10 years, they create personal and group projects – crochet, ribbon embroidery and other crafts usually given as gifts.

Since October, they've made 12 quilts for injured servicemen and women, and they plan to quilt more next year. The intricate red, white and blue pieces will go to recovering vets in Topeka and Manhattan, Kan., where one of the women's sons will coordinate the deliveries via his American Legion Post.

Some of the quilts have scripture and each has a hand-signed note from the quilter.

"When you give people quilts like this it's a very emotional thing," Sandy Miyahara, one of the quilters, said. "It's like giving a kid a security blanket."

Each quilt, they estimate, costs between $200 and $300 in materials alone. Some are sewn by hand. Piecemakers Country Store visitors and organizations such as the Beta Sigma Pi service group have donated funds for the quilts, and some of the women have paid for materials themselves.

The women, most of whom are retired, are still seeking donations. Checks should be made out to: U.S.O. at Fort Riley, Kansas, and sent to the Material Girls, Piecemakers Country Store, 1720 Adams Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92626.